Saga has written to 230,000 of its customers who hold a Saga credit card telling them that if they don’t have an income of at least £12,000 a year, their credit card will be cancelled.

For some time now Saga, the company which sells exclusively to the over 50’s, has promoted a Saga credit card to its clients. For some years now Saga’s card has been operated for Saga by Liverpool Victoria, the company that’s better known as an insurance company. But LV has decided to withdraw from the credit card market, presumably as a bi-product of the credit crunch.

Saga’s credit card is now operated by Allied Irish Bank and the bank has set a minimum annual income criteria of £12,000. This means that the thousands of Saga credit card holders living on modest incomes will have to face losing their credit card.

This will not be well received by them. Indeed, my Aunt, one of those affected, is most irate. She thought Saga were on the side of the elderly so to be forced to relinquish her credit card is most galling for her.

A spokesperson from Saga said, ”In the current financial environment credit card firms have to be sure that the people to whom they extend credit are able to pay it back. Different lenders adopt different lending criteria.”

My Aunt is less than impressed …………….